Young and Restless’s Michelle Stafford On Billy Flynn, Phyllis’s Bid ‘To Take Over Genoa City’ (EXCL)
Phyllis had tried joining forces with Billy and Cane on Young and Restless, but as those alliances have fractured and fallen apart before her eyes, it has become crystal clear to her that the only one she can truly rely on in life is herself. “Hey, listen,” portrayer Michelle Stafford declares to Soap Opera Digest. “She’s so over people treating her like crap. She just wants to take over Genoa City. So that’s what she’s hoping to get.”
Coming Out on Top
It seemed like Cane would be the perfect partner-in-crime for Phyllis, but she’s grown frustrated at his constant waffling on his big plans. She was all-in when he was plotting to take over all of Genoa City’s biggest companies, but when he changed his mind and wanted to do the so-called right thing to prove to Lily and their kids, Charlie and Mattie, that he hadn’t become a complete monster, she realized she couldn’t trust Cane to help her achieve her goals and that aligning with the billionaire could cost her too much. With her eyes on the prize, Phyllis has now decided to strike out on her own by stealing Cane’s dangerous AI program.
“She has her own plan,” Stafford shares of how Phyllis plans to deal with her former business partner moving forward. “And it’s not about trust. He comes with a lot. He comes with a high-ticket price, and she’s like, I don’t care. I’m gonna make it happen. She thinks she’s smarter than everybody in that town, so even if he tries to one-up her, she believes in her own ability to take him down if she has to.”
Sparring Partner
While Phyllis and Cane have never quite been able to get on the same page, Stafford has enjoyed sharing scenes with his portrayer, Billy Flynn. “Love him so much,” she enthuses. “I cannot say enough great things about him. He has an energy and a directness about him,” Stafford continues of the actor who was Daytime Emmy-nominated three times for his work as Chad on Days of Our Lives. “He plays a character [with similar traits] and I just think he’s really good. We did a scene the other day that hasn’t aired yet, where we’re talking and he gets, like, very, very definite with Phyllis. He was like, ‘Sit down now.’ And it’s funny, because for any other character, Phyllis would be like, ‘No, no.’ And she actually sat down. I think that he’s the only one for her that she would be affected by.” Well, with one notable exception, the actress allows. “And Victor — Cane and Victor, those two.”
Constant Struggle
Betraying Cane for her own ambitious ends could come back to bite Phyllis, but after finding it impossible to work with anyone else in town, she’s determined to take back her power and forge ahead on her own. And she’s willing to do whatever it takes in order to prove to everyone who has dismissed her that she’s a force to be reckoned with.
“It’s almost like she’s so at the end of her rope,” Stafford notes. “She’s like, really fighting for her life. And that’s how Josh [Griffith, Y&R’s head writer and executive producer] writes the character, like she’s always on the edge, she’s always fighting for her life.”
The only question remains: is this a fight Phyllis can win? Share your thoughts and predictions in the comments below!
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